The Beauty Queen
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Model - turned - Singer - turned - Actress, popular African-American entertainer Barbara McNair has dazzled audiences with her vocal prowess and exceptional beauty for over four decades. The Chicago-born entertainer and one-time secretary was raised in Wisconsin. Following music studies at the Racine Conservatory of Music and the American Conservatory of Music in her hometown Chicago, she worked her way up from small supper clubs to large showrooms as one of America's more popular headliners of the late 50s and 60s. She even was signed with Motown Records for a couple of years in the 60's. It's the legendary group "The Supremes" that are doing the backing vocals on Barbara's hit "Fancy passes". Her big break came with a week-long gig on Arthur Godfrey's talent show, which led to bookings at The Purple Onion, The Persian Room and The Cocoanut Grove. She began receiving invites on the TV variety circuit ("Toast of the Town," "The Dean Martin Show" and "The Tonight Show") and made it to Broadway with the musicals "The Body Beautiful" and "No Strings." In the late 60s Barbara made a choice to scout out acting roles, hoping to parlay her singing success into a movie career. The singer showed initial promise as a sexy lead alongside Raymond St. Jacques in the gritty crime drama If He Hollers, Let Him Go! (1968) in which she made news with her celebrated nude sequences. She wore a nun's habit alongside Mary Tyler Moore in Elvis Presley's last feature film Change of Habit (1969), and appeared opposite Sidney Poitier as Virgil Tibbs' wife in both They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! (1970) and The Organization (1971). At her zenith she hosted her own syndicated musical TV show "The Barbara McNair Show" (1969), and guested on all the popular TV programs of the day including "Mission: Impossible," "Hogan's Heroes" and "I Spy." The early 1970s were a difficult time for Barbara when offers suddenly stopped coming in and her husband was tragically shot and killed. Spotted only here and there ever since, she was seen in a recurring role for a time on "General Hospital" (1983) and had a couple of minor roles in obscure films. Barbara maintains predominantly in niteries and tours, the ever-glamorous songstress still is a class act. My favorite songs by Barbara McNair are: "He's a king", "What a day", "Here I am baby" and "You're gonna love my baby"
Here's Barbara with "You're gonna love my baby"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It8ORePNyt8
.
Model - turned - Singer - turned - Actress, popular African-American entertainer Barbara McNair has dazzled audiences with her vocal prowess and exceptional beauty for over four decades. The Chicago-born entertainer and one-time secretary was raised in Wisconsin. Following music studies at the Racine Conservatory of Music and the American Conservatory of Music in her hometown Chicago, she worked her way up from small supper clubs to large showrooms as one of America's more popular headliners of the late 50s and 60s. She even was signed with Motown Records for a couple of years in the 60's. It's the legendary group "The Supremes" that are doing the backing vocals on Barbara's hit "Fancy passes". Her big break came with a week-long gig on Arthur Godfrey's talent show, which led to bookings at The Purple Onion, The Persian Room and The Cocoanut Grove. She began receiving invites on the TV variety circuit ("Toast of the Town," "The Dean Martin Show" and "The Tonight Show") and made it to Broadway with the musicals "The Body Beautiful" and "No Strings." In the late 60s Barbara made a choice to scout out acting roles, hoping to parlay her singing success into a movie career. The singer showed initial promise as a sexy lead alongside Raymond St. Jacques in the gritty crime drama If He Hollers, Let Him Go! (1968) in which she made news with her celebrated nude sequences. She wore a nun's habit alongside Mary Tyler Moore in Elvis Presley's last feature film Change of Habit (1969), and appeared opposite Sidney Poitier as Virgil Tibbs' wife in both They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! (1970) and The Organization (1971). At her zenith she hosted her own syndicated musical TV show "The Barbara McNair Show" (1969), and guested on all the popular TV programs of the day including "Mission: Impossible," "Hogan's Heroes" and "I Spy." The early 1970s were a difficult time for Barbara when offers suddenly stopped coming in and her husband was tragically shot and killed. Spotted only here and there ever since, she was seen in a recurring role for a time on "General Hospital" (1983) and had a couple of minor roles in obscure films. Barbara maintains predominantly in niteries and tours, the ever-glamorous songstress still is a class act. My favorite songs by Barbara McNair are: "He's a king", "What a day", "Here I am baby" and "You're gonna love my baby"
Here's Barbara with "You're gonna love my baby"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It8ORePNyt8
.
posted by Patrick at Wednesday, November 29, 2006
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